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Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
ShortGoal
Rob Simmons
1
William & Mary WAMW (0-1-0, 0-0-0)
4
Winner Radford RADW (1-0-0, 0-0-0)
William & Mary WAMW
(0-1-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
4
Radford RADW
(1-0-0, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
William & Mary WAMW 0 1 1
Radford RADW 0 4 4

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Dominant Second Half Powers Women’s Soccer in Season Opener

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's soccer program used a dominant second half with four goals to move past William & Mary 4-1 Thursday night in the first game of the 2024 season.
 
KEY STATS
  • The Tribe out shot the Highlanders 20-6, but the Highlanders were much more efficient with five of their shots on goal compared to the Tribe's seven.
  • June Stevens assisted three of the Highlanders' four goals on the night, Lilly Short also notched the first multi-goal performance of the season.
  • After William & Mary earned five corners in the first half, Radford held their opponents to just two the rest of the way.
  • Eileen Albers was at the middle of the offense with three shots, two on target with one resulting in a goal.
 
PLAY BY PLAY
Opening the season, Radford leaned on a strong defensive effort to keep things scoreless through the first 45. Through the first half, the William & Mary owned the offensive advantage firing five shots with one on goal as Radford searched for its first shot.
 
Coming out for the second half tied 0-0, the Highlanders flipped the script and put on pressure that would prove to be too much and open the flood gates. In the 48th minute, Radford got its first corner kick of the night and immediately converted. June Stevens crossed a kick into a crowded box, finding the head of Caitlyn Nottingham and then Lilly Short who sent it in for the 1-0 advantage.
 
Not done yet, in the 57th minute that same duo of Stevens and Short linked together once again for the same result to make it a 2-0 lead. Just one minute later, the goals continued to pour in. Stevens assisted her third straight goal finding Eileen Albers who placed a perfect shot past the outstretched goalie making it 3-0. Ava Kertgate also assisted the third goal for her first point of the season.
 
After an unfortunate bounce gave William & Mary its first goal of the night, Radford responded to regain the three-goal lead. Not wanting to be left out, the Highlanders' leader in assists in 2023 Paige Olson found Kertgate at the top of the box who struck for the fourth and final goal of the night in a 4-1 final.
 
NOTABLES
  • The win over William & Mary is Radford's first since 1983, snapping a streak of six straight wins by the Tribe.
  • Jordan Phillips returned in the net for the Highlanders making her first start since September 15th last season earning six saves.
  • Tonight marks the first multi-goal performance of Short's career at Radford. Counting the Highlanders three postseason matches last season, Short has scored four goals in the Highlanders last four matches.
  • The Highlanders have now extended their unbeaten streak at home over three seasons dating back to October 15th, 2022, for an 11-0 record over that stretch.
  • Stevens is the first Highlander since Paige Olson in 2023 to notch three assists in a single match.
  • Radford's record in season openers now stands at 21-17-4 overall and 19-5-2 at home since 1981.
 
HEAD COACH SOHRABI QUOTABLE
"It's a great way to start the season. William & Mary is a very storied program, and I have a lot of respect for the success they've put together. Just last year they lost in the semifinals of the CAA, so we are extremely happy with the result. We started the game rough and with a lot of nerves. After we settled down after about midway through the first half, we played good Radford soccer and scored some beautiful goals. We can definitely improve on limiting chances for the other team going forward, but I'm overall very happy with our performance tonight." – Ben Sohrabi.

AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
  • Charleston Southern fell to Furman 3-2 after three second half goals by Furman.
  • The Citadel defeated UNC Asheville in Charleston, S.C. despite an early lead by UNC Asheville.
  • USC Upstate picked up a strong shutout victory on the road over Queens N.C. 2-0.
  • High Point fell in their home opener to a tough Liberty squad with a 3-1 final.
  • Presbyterian used a strong comeback effort to upend Wofford 3-2 on the road.
  • A goal in the 90th minute saw Stetson upend Gardner-Webb in a tight 2-1 final in Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to action this weekend with a big test and their first road trip of the season. Radford and West Virginia are set to rematch their 2018 NCAA Tournament First Round meeting on Sunday, August 18th with all the action being streamed on ESPN+.

FOLLOW RADFORD WOMEN'S SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford women's soccer team follow @RadfordWSOC on X and Instagram or Radford Women's Soccer on Facebook.
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